Washington Commanders selling gear with old, controversial name & logo
· Yahoo Sports
The Washington Commanders officially changed their name in 2020. Six years later they are still selling merchandise with the former name and logo in their team store. It’s a bit of a surprising move given the organization’s insistence that those are gone for good.
Visit milkshakeslot.com for more information.
Why are the Commanders moving the retro merch?
MORE: Printable one-page fantasy football auction value cheat sheets
“We are required to maintain the marks in commercial usage so that marks remain under franchise control,” the Commanders told WUSA reporter Eric Flack.
Despite this, Washington’s previously stated position on ever going back to the name remains unchanged.
Among the available options are shirts paying tribute to legends of the past like Art Monk and Sean Taylor, who plied their craft under the old nickname. One can certainly understand the desire to be historically accurate, though abandoning the moniker was seemingly a concession made at the time Washington made the change.
It does feel a bit like the franchise is trying to have their cake and eat it too. With the full admission that I am not well versed in trademark law, the explanation is surprising. But perhaps it’s totally normal.
People obviously feel very strongly about what this football team is called. And there’s good reason to think a healthy debate will continue as the most powerful voices around have made it a priority to weigh in.
Some are also pointing out that there shouldn’t be a desire to maintain a trademark of something that will never be used again. But that feels slightly shortsighted as a contention because there are a lot of reasons to make sure the old name and logo don’t fall into someone else’s hands. It will be really interesting to see if the team’s strategy changes as at all going forward or if they continue to exist in these two separate spaces.
— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter —